Any idea why my yogurt turned out chalky?

[Guest guest]

Hello

I make my yogurt on a heating pad. This is my 5th batch, I think.

Always before, the yogurt seems to congeal after a few hours so that

when I pull out the candy thermometer to check on the temp., it is not

milky and I can see through to the temp.

Well, this last batch I made, once it congealed, every time I pulled

out the thermometer it had a chalky white coating on it. I had to wipe

it down with a clean paper towel really quickly in order to get a good

reading.

The only thing I did differently is that I accidentally put the first

spoonful of ProGurt directly into the pot. But as soon as this

happened I scooped it up in the cup I had set aside to mix the

culture, and mixed as usual, adding the 2nd scoop to this batch. I

then mixed it all well, as usual.

The milk was cooled to 75 degrees.

Could this ever so minor transgression had ruined the batch?

Also, while I'm asking, what exactly is the purpose of scooping up a

little of the cooled milk to mix with the culture and then adding it

back in? If it's all the required coolness, why is this even necessary?

Would you eat this yogurt? It was properly fermented for 24 hours and

smells just right.

Thanks for reading!

SCD 3 weeks for Crohn's

Really smooooothing things out

[Guest guest]

, I don't know why this happened. If it smells just right, I

think I would eat it, but I'd like to know what Mimi or Marilyn think.

The reason you pull out a small amount of milk to mix the powder in

etc., is that it has a better chance of dissolving well this way.

mom to -12

SCD 4/23/04

[Guest guest]

Try tasting a tiny bit and see if it tastes more sweet than your

previous yogurts. Sweetness indicates lactose, the SCD forbidden

milk sugar..

Mimi

[Guest guest]

>> Also, while I'm asking, what exactly is the

purpose of scooping up a little of the cooled

milk to mix with the culture and then adding it

back in? If it's all the required coolness, why is this even necessary? <<

If you just dump the powder into the milk, it

won't mix correctly, and the starter won't be

disseminsated throughout the milk to do its good

thing of gobbling down the lactose.

In point of fact, I never bother with the

separate dish -- it's one more thing to wash. I

place the starter in the container, add two

tablespoons of milk, and stir to make a paste.

Once all the starter has been made into a paste,

I add four more tablespoons and mix. Then eight

tablespoons and mix. At this point, you ought to

be able to add the rest of the milk and mix and put it on.

>> Would you eat this yogurt? It was properly

fermented for 24 hours and smells just right. <<

If it's tart like real SCD yogurt, yes.

— Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

Thank you. I now know that sweetness is something to be on the look

out for. That makes sense.

I did try it and this batch seems totally normal. It is definitely

tart. I guess that chalkiness is just going to have to be one of

those un-solved mysteries. I'm trying to be so careful and it's nice

to be able to ask such a seemingly small question and be taken

seriously (as opposed to how my husband looks at me when I worry about

these things, haha).

Thanks again for all your wisdom

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